The Edge of Oblivion
by 23blenders
Summary: Pittoo helps fight Hades, and is knocked unconscious in the process. Despite being healed, however, he won't wake up. His grief-stricken twin follows him to the dark world that he has banished himself to and tries to bring him back before it's too late.


Pittoo liked to stay in the shadows, watching Pit in case he got in trouble. And thus far, Pit had been doing pretty well for himself. But now was the moment Pittoo was needed: The light angel was weak from battle, and needed to keep that giant-ass canon still and aim while Palutena powered up a shot. He couldn't do much by himself, so Pittoo requested the power of flight to go and distract Hades so Pit wouldn't have to work so hard to dodge his attacks.

It worked.

Hades was vaporized, but the blast sent Pittoo slamming into a distant rock.

Pit ignored the pain he was in and ran around in search of his twin, calling out his name. Viridi finally located the unconscious angel directed Pit to him. Palutena beamed him up, and treated his injuries before having him put to bed in order to rest. Hopefully, he'd be awake in time to attend the small party she felt everyone deserved after having vanquished the threat.

But he stayed asleep, for one day, two. A week went by, with no sign of life from Pittoo, and the goddesses were confused. Pit was also confused, but mostly sick with worry. His injuries had healed, and Viridi confirmed that there was no damage to his head. So why was he comatose?

A few days later, despite their care he began to fade. His body became too cold, and his breathing softer.

Had he been living on borrowed time? Did the broken mirror cause him to be incomplete in body, as well as soul?

Pit couldn't care less if Pittoo was borrowing from him to stay alive. He had almost given his life to save his twin, and would do it again. He just wanted Pittoo back, and couldn't comprehend that there was something he couldn't save his counterpart from. After all, he'd been on his death bed and Pittoo had saved him. Why couldn't he do the same?

Pit begged Palutena for even the most far-fetched idea, something he could do that had any chance at all of helping.

She shook her head sadly. Pittoo was- had been- perfectly healthy. Something was killing him from the inside, and at this point all they could do was sustain his body and hope he came back.

One night, Pit went in to Pittoo's room to say goodnight. The dark angel was so still, that Pit felt a stab of terror when he entered the room. To his relief, however, Pittoo was still hanging on. Barely.

However... Pit was struck with a terrible certainty: This was his twin's last chance. Pit could feel his other half almost slipping away, and knew it would before the night was up.

He couldn't help it. Once he came to this realization, he began to cry.

Pit had never hated his counterpart. Even when Pittoo was trying to kill him, he knew that the other angel was a victim. He was doing what he was created to, after all. Or so they thought. Once he got over the shock of Pittoo's change of heart, he'd been delighted.

Pittoo had teased him, but also supported him. He remembered, during the Chaos Kin waves, hearing a slash behind him at one point. He'd turned to see his new ally crouched slightly in a defensive position at Pit's back, growling slightly at a dying monster. It had been about to attack Pit from behind, until Pittoo saw that the creature was about to attack _his_ twin. His expression had been one of cold fury as he'd held out his left arm instinctively to cover Pit's back more fully. After that, Pittoo always kept an eye out to make sure Pit was ok.

He risked everything to save Pit when he was dying. Then he'd disappeared before Pit could thank him, and Pit was afraid he might not see his counterpart again.

Pittoo had dashed that fear by once again showing up when Pit needed him, and without even being asked. And Pit knew then that Pittoo really did want to look out for him.

So he was confused when they got back to Palutena's temple and Pittoo retreated to the shadows, clearly relieved that Pit was ok but avoiding his thank yous. Pit still marched into that dark corner that his twin was hiding in and hugged the other angel. He thanked Pittoo, making certain he was paying attention and heard. Then Pit sat next to him and tried to get him to talk, and was further confused when the dark angel wouldn't respond. When Pit set his head on Pittoo's shoulder as he became more tired, however, he allowed it. And then he sighed and rested his head against the brown hair for a few moments before suggesting that Pit should go to bed.

He was gone again the next morning, and Pit was terribly disappointed.

He'd been concerned for Pittoo and his injuries, although he himself had a few as well after that battle. But he was secretly happy, because that meant that the dark angel would have to hang around until he was healed and rested, giving Pit an opportunity connect with him as friends.

Except Pittoo never woke up.

Tonight, instead of heading back to his own room, Pit just climbed under the covers with Pittoo. He was too cold. Pit gripped his dying twin tightly and spread a white wing over his body, trying to help give the other angel more warmth. He fell asleep with his head bent over Pittoo's shoulder and silent tears soaking into his clothes.

The next morning, Pittoo was astonishingly still alive. Pit's close proximity was allowing him to help anchor his soul, if only for a little longer. The sight of Pit curled up with Pittoo was adorable and heartbreaking at the same time, but Palutena chose to smile at it. She was just so tired of the sadness and the smile was a relief to her.

But to her horror, and Viridi's when Palutena frantically called to her for help, Pit wouldn't wake up now either. Palutena wept over him and called to him in a broken voice. Viridi was outwardly infuriated with him, but wanted to sink to the floor and cry with the goddess of Light. In the end, all they could do was the same thing they'd been doing for Pittoo and hope he woke up.

* * *

Pit was walking along what seemed almost like a beach, but instead of water there was a thick, heavy black fog that washed soundlessly up and down the shore. The fog was cold and Pit was wary of it, but not afraid. He instinctively knew that he would die if he entered, but it wouldn't come after him.

However, he mentally noted that while the fog was cold, the air in this place was colder and everything seemed dead. Everything was in grayscale to his eyes. If he were here for long, the fog might seem very appealing.

Pit had the odd impression that this place was leeching his color from him. He still looked normal, and in fact the sand below him and a little ways out had a normal color. He was the only thing here with any life. But he had a definite feeling of something draining from him, slowly.

As Pit made all these observations, he kept walking along. It didn't trouble him that he was here, and not in Skyworld. He felt quite certain that he could get home any time he wanted, certainly before the leeching properties of this place put him in danger. That wasn't the issue. He had a fuzzy certainty that he was looking for something, and that something could be found here.

He caught sight of a bunch of dead looking shrubs off of the shoreline, and decided to sit by them for awhile, watching the fog swirl slowly.

And after a period of time that seemed to be years, but at the same time mere minutes, a figure showed up in the distance.

Pit didn't do anything about this. He merely watched as this black-clothed person trudged along the shore, his feet obscured by the fog. He was walking in it, but not enough to engulf him.

Yet.

Sometimes, as he walked, Pit noticed that he'd wander into it until it reached the belt he was wearing, then he'd skitter back out. The skittering was the greatest sign of life the black winged figure showed, especially since he, like his surroundings, had no color. His skin was gray toned instead of any normal flesh color.

"You know the fog will swallow you, and you'll die right?" Pit finally called out, vaguely feeling that he'd be upset if this guy died right in front of him. But the dark haired person paid him no heed, and continued past Pit in the same manner he had before, nearly allowing himself to be engulfed and jumping out at the last second.

Pit frowned slightly, then went back to staring back out at the foggy ocean for awhile.

It was when Dark Pit was nearly out of sight that Pit recognized him with a start.

He jumped up, stumbling, and ran down the beach calling for his twin. Pittoo didn't react at all until Pit tackled him away from the fog and started forcibly dragging him away from it.

"What are you doing, you moron?! You're going to die! You... you _are_ dying!"

Knowledge of the real world had come back to Pit. Pittoo lying comatose in a bed in Skyworld. Curling up next to him. Days and days of begging him to wake up.

"Is that so?" came the uninterested, monotone response.

"Yes, Pittoo. You're dying. Ever since the fight with Hades. Nobody can figure out why, but I'll bet you're not helping by playing around with _death_."

He shrugged apathetically.

"Hanging around in the fog is the reason I'm dying."

Pit was taken aback slightly. But it kind of made sense. If he was hanging around at the edges of oblivion, then it probably would cause his body to slowly fade.

"Well then you could _not_ do that. You know, hang out over there, really far away from the fog."

The dark angel was silent for a moment.

"It's cold. The darkness is warmer."

Pit remembered his errant thought earlier, that if he was here long enough then the fog might seem pleasant.

"But I don't understand. Why are you here? Why are you all gray? There's no reason for you to even be in a coma, let alone here, wherever this is. I'm pretty sure the only thing you can do here is go into the fog, or leave."

Pittoo merely shrugged. Then surprisingly, he looked up at Pit with his medium gray eyes. But he didn't seem to recognize his counterpart. Then he put his hand up to Pit's shoulder, not quite touching.

"You're warm." he said, with a small sigh. Then his hand and head went limp and the small spark Pit saw in him for a moment vanished. Pittoo turned and began walking back to the thick fog.

Pit grabbed his arm roughly and dragged him even further away before stopping.

"Don't. Do. That." he said firmly to his dark twin. He watched the other angel stare at the ground for a minute.

"I don't get it. Are you doing this to yourself, then?" Pit asked finally. Pittoo shrugged.

"It's what's best." he whispered.

"No it's not." Pit snapped, angry for an instant.

"How do you figure?" Pittoo asked, showing the same sort of sad curiosity that he'd shown upon noticing Pit's warm aura.

"We're all waiting for you, Pittoo. Waiting for you to come back. We've been taking care of you and watching for any sign that you're waking up. But... apparently you're just planning on never waking up."

"Things will be simpler without me. My soul is incomplete, and it makes me a pathetic excuse for a living thing. Even if my soul were whole, I've still done nothing but take from them and hurt them. Hurt _him_. And they still feel obligated to help me."

"Obligated? We _want_ to help you, you numbskull! And you're right that you're hurting us. We don't want to lose you!"

Pit had yelled the first part, but then he softened up and his voice cracked at the end.

"Pit and Palutena will get over it."

The light angel looked angry again.

"Seriously? So you're just bent on self destruction, are you? We're all trying to help you, but you're deliberately ignoring us. So how did I even get here, if you're doing that?"

He mostly asked the last part to himself, but Pittoo was thinking about it too.

"Probably the only person who could find me here is... is..."

He looked up at Pit with his mouth open, as if he only just noticed him.

"...my other half. Pit?"

The blue eyed angel huffed with mixed relief and frustration.

"Took you long enough." he quoted.

"...no. No. Get out of here Pit. Staying in this place will kill anyone. If you're here long enough, you'll get cold and decide to go into the fog. Even you, Pit."

He was more worked up than he had been since Pit had first caught sight of him, and now he was standing and looking around for a doorway, anything to get his twin out of this dead place.

"Chill out. I can leave whenever I want."

Pittoo paused, looking at Pit.

"Well then for god's sake _go_. Before something happens to you."

"Nope."

"Well then, I'll force you out. You can't stay here."

"I'm not leaving unless you come with me."

"What are you even doing here? How did you get here?"

"I have no idea how I got here. The last thing I remember is... falling asleep next to you."

Pittoo raised an eyebrow.

"You were just so cold. I thought if I was near you, you might... I don't know. Borrow my life force or something."

A few tears ran down his face again at the memory, and Dark Pit was stunned. Pit had never cried in the time he'd known him, not even when Palutena had turned on him.

"Why are you here, Pit?" he asked gently.

"I'm here for you, Pittoo."

The simplicity of the answer rendered him speechless for a minute.

"Pit, I've messed up your life enough. You don't deserve to have to deal with me, your messed up reflection. You don't owe me anything."

"And owing things is the only reason to want to know someone? I want to know you. I want to be friends."

"There are better people out there to be friends with."

"No there aren't. You are uniquely well suited to be friends with me."

Pittoo opened his mouth, then shut it. Pit had a point.

"But I'm also uniquely well suited to hurt you, for the same reason."

"Can't you say that about anybody you care about?"

"Why would you care about me?"

"Why do you care about me?"

The dark angel looked at Pit.

"Well... you're a good person. You give to everyone else. You deserve to have others care about you. And... well... you're you."

"Every one of those things applies to you as well, Pittoo."

"I've only ever done things for you, Palutena, and myself."

"And you've had exactly how much time to do stuff with your life?"

Pittoo hmmed. "Still. I should have done more."

"You still can, you know. Just stop being all emo."

"Emo?!"

"Yeah. Screw 'goth' me. You're emo me."

"Hey!"

"Picture yourself for a moment, walking along all forlorn in that black fog like you were a little while ago. You're wearing all black and contemplating suicide. Tell me that's not epically emo."

"Ugh."

"I think your hair may have even been in your eyes. I can't quite remember."

Pittoo snorted.

The longer he listened to Pit, the more alive he felt and the more ridiculous his previous melancholy sounded. Pit's normal happy demeanor was infectious, and the dark angel was feeling brighter now despite himself.

"So how about it? Come home, and do something with yourself?"

"Hm."

His situation was a unique one. Everything hinged on Pit. He had spent his whole existence trying to get rid of his need for his original. He'd utterly failed, and eventually admitted to himself that he couldn't cut Pit out of his life. He couldn't live without his counterpart- and stalking Pit wasn't enough for him. He wanted to be with Pit, and interact with him.

But he cared enough for Pit that he'd questioned whether an association with him would benefit the light angel.

The answer to that had come in a series of memories: His kick sending Pit flying away from Pandora's powers; An arrow of his hitting the other angel; Pit's upset protestations to his taunts; Pit lying on the ground, gasping and his wing stumps still smoking.

Pit had come to harm at every turn, and it wrenched him to decide that his absence was better. Not easier, but better. And the only absence from his counterpart he could take was death.

Pit had had one last battle; Pittoo could certainly help with that, to be sure that Hades was gone. Then, with his decision to die already in place, he found himself at the edge of oblivion when he was knocked out. It was just a matter of hanging around long enough for the place to do its work.

And then Pit had come after him. Like he always did. And having what he wanted, needed, here in front of him, begging him to come back was too much. Then Pit made it worse:

"I'll be there, you know. I won't ever abandon you."

The light angel leaned over and wrapped his arms and wings around his twin.

"I'm here for you, Pittoo."

He let out a shuddering breath and leaned towards Pit and the warmth he was giving off, tucking his wings against his back. A few minutes passed in silence. And then Pit said something that broke his already fading resolve.

"I need you too, Pittoo. You're my other half. I need you to be there for me, too."

Pit needed him. And he was willing to accept this because he'd gotten a taste of being with his counterpart again, and he wanted so badly to stay with Pit that he forgot all his reasons for coming here in the first place. He would take any excuse now. It was so easy to say he'd simply never hurt Pit again with the temptation right here. All he wanted was Pit.

"Ok, Pit. I'll come with you."

But he wasn't ready to go back just yet. He'd been here too long to just leave.

"...But I'd like to stay here a bit longer. I don't think I'm quite up to living again yet." Pit nodded, and Pittoo continued.

"So maybe you can go back- you're in a coma now too, aren't you?"

"Nope. I'm staying here until you come back. I'm not leaving your fate up to chance. If I leave you alone, you might just decide to go back to the fog."

Pittoo was about to protest, but lapsed back into silence. Pit was entirely correct, when he thought about it. If Pit left, then Pittoo would fall back into his depression and it wouldn't take long for him to die. He needed Pit to help sustain him until he was stronger. And besides...

"... I'd like it if you stayed."

Pit nodded and smiled. Even with such a short contact, Pittoo's eyes already had a hint of their old red back, and he was smiling too.

"And when we get home, you're not leaving my sight for a very long time." Pit proclaimed, well aware that Pittoo would require a lot of time and attention to fully heal. Simply put, it would be a long time before Pit trusted him without supervision.

"That's probably a good idea." Pittoo agreed frankly. Then he sighed and leaned against Pit, who put an arm and a wing around him.

* * *

A week after Pit had fallen asleep, Palutena was sitting by his bedside. She had brought a reflecting pool into the room so she could keep an eye on the angels and do some of her work at the same time. She was observing a disagreement between some humans and pondering whether or not she should intervene when she heard a groan from the bed that both twins were still lying on.

She actually sent the whole bowl to the floor in her astonishment and stood over the boys. Both still looked the same, but only for a moment.

Pittoo's face started scrunching up and she saw him start moving under the blankets. She went quietly to his side and waited for him to fully wake. Half a minute later, his red eyes opened.

"Hey, Pittoo." she greeted softly. He blinked dazedly.

"Is Pit up yet?" he asked thickly.

"No, you're the first to- wait, how did you know that Pit was asleep too?"

"He found me and convinced me to come home. He stayed to make sure I did."

Palutena frowned. Was he delirious? She felt his forehead, but it seemed normal.

"Pit made me leave first. He should be awake soon though."

He started to sit, and the goddess helped steady him as he did. Then he turned and shook Pit.

"Hey! Hey, Pit!"

He didn't seem too alarmed that he didn't get a response right away, but Palutena was disappointed. Then she was overjoyed when a few minutes later, Pit opened his eyes and yawned. The first thing he saw was Pittoo, looking down at him with a relieved smile. He returned the smile, but was grabbed in a hug right away by Palutena.

"Oh, Pit. Oh, Pit. I missed you. I was so afraid I was losing you. Don't do that to me again."

"Lady Palutena! I need air!"

She let go, then kissed him on the forehead. He started to stand up and she helped steady him.

"How long was I in a coma?" he asked as Pittoo also slowly stood up.

"About a week... Wait, how did you know you were in a coma? You knew that as well, Pittoo."

The twins looked at each other.

"That's... a long story."

END


End file.
